Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor Plot Summary

Introduction

In the pantheon of Hollywood legends, few stars have burned as brightly or as enduringly as Elizabeth Taylor. With her violet eyes, breathtaking beauty, and magnetic screen presence, she captivated audiences from her childhood debut in the 1940s through a career spanning more than six decades. Yet Taylor was far more than just a beautiful face. She was a woman of extraordinary contradictions—vulnerable yet fiercely independent, indulgent yet generous, scandalous yet principled. Her life unfolded like an epic film, complete with dramatic romances, health battles, professional triumphs, and personal reinventions. What makes Taylor's story so compelling is how she transformed herself from a studio-controlled child star into a powerful humanitarian and businesswoman who lived entirely on her own terms. Through her seven marriages, her groundbreaking AIDS activism, and her savvy business ventures, Taylor demonstrated remarkable resilience and an unwavering commitment to authenticity. From her, we learn about the courage required to live passionately despite public scrutiny, the power of using celebrity for meaningful change, and the importance of remaining true to oneself regardless of societal expectations. Her legacy offers a masterclass in turning personal challenges into purpose and leveraging fame into lasting impact.

Chapter 1: The Child Star: Beauty, Talent, and Early Fame

Elizabeth Taylor was born in London in 1932 to American parents, Francis and Sara Taylor. Her extraordinary beauty was evident from an early age, particularly her violet-blue eyes framed by a genetic mutation that gave her two rows of eyelashes. When World War II threatened Europe, the Taylor family relocated to Los Angeles, where Sara's connections in the film industry helped secure Elizabeth's first screen test at Universal Pictures. Though initially dismissed as a child with "nothing outstanding about her," Elizabeth's persistence and her mother's ambition soon landed her more significant opportunities. Her breakthrough came with National Velvet (1944), where she played Velvet Brown, a young girl who disguises herself as a male jockey to ride her beloved horse to victory in the Grand National race. To secure the role, the determined twelve-year-old reportedly grew three inches in three months through sheer willpower, eating double breakfasts and hanging from doorways to stretch herself. The film's success established Elizabeth as one of Hollywood's most promising child stars, but unlike many child actors, her transition to adult roles proved remarkably smooth. Life at MGM was far from idyllic for the young star. She attended school on the studio lot, often being the only student in her grade, with just three hours of concentrated schooling required daily. "I was so isolated," Elizabeth later recalled. "I used to go into the ladies' room and daydream for ten minutes because you were under such constant supervision." The studio controlled every aspect of her life, from what roles she played to how she was portrayed in the press. They carefully crafted her image as a wholesome animal lover, distributing photos of Elizabeth surrounded by her menagerie of pets to fan magazines. As she matured, Elizabeth began to resist the studio's control. When MGM wanted to remove the mole on her right cheek, dye her luxurious black hair, or pluck her thick arched eyebrows, she simply refused. She stood up to the tyrannical studio head Louis B. Mayer when he berated her mother, declaring, "Mr. Mayer, unless you apologize to my mother right now I am leaving the studio." This early display of courage revealed the steel beneath her beauty that would characterize her throughout her life. She learned a valuable lesson when she wasn't fired: "I realized that I must have some kind of intrinsic monetary value to them... They needed me." The 1950s saw Elizabeth transform into a glamorous leading lady. Her roles in films like A Place in the Sun (1951), Giant (1956), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) showcased her evolving talent and screen presence. Critics and audiences alike recognized that the beautiful child star had developed into a serious actress with remarkable emotional depth. Director George Stevens, who worked with her on A Place in the Sun and Giant, recognized her natural instinct for acting despite her lack of formal training, once remarking that she possessed "the face of an angel and the emotions of a woman." Elizabeth's childhood experiences shaped her into a woman who would never be intimidated by anyone. She developed a fierce independence and an unwillingness to be controlled that would define her approach to her career, her relationships, and eventually her humanitarian work. The girl who had been exploited by the studio system grew into a woman determined to live life entirely on her own terms, regardless of public opinion or industry expectations.

Chapter 2: Legendary Romances: Seven Marriages and Burton

Elizabeth Taylor's romantic life was as dramatic as any film she starred in, with eight marriages to seven different men spanning nearly six decades. Her first marriage at age 18 to hotel heir Conrad "Nicky" Hilton lasted only nine months. The union, which began with a lavish MGM-orchestrated wedding in 1950, quickly deteriorated due to Hilton's drinking and abusive behavior. During their honeymoon in Europe, Hilton began drinking heavily, leaving Elizabeth alone to cry and chain-smoke in their hotel room. This pattern of seeking love and companionship, often with disastrous results, would continue throughout her life. After divorcing Hilton, Elizabeth married British actor Michael Wilding in 1952, seeking stability with a man twenty years her senior. She described him as an "oasis" after the turbulence of her first marriage. They had two sons together, Michael Howard and Christopher Edward, but the marriage gradually unraveled as Elizabeth's career flourished while Wilding's faltered. The power dynamic troubled them both, and Elizabeth grew frustrated with his passive nature. "I'm not your daughter. I'm your wife," she would scream during arguments. Elizabeth's third marriage to producer Mike Todd in 1957 marked one of the great loves of her life. Todd, a larger-than-life showman who produced Around the World in 80 Days, matched Elizabeth's intensity and showered her with extravagant gifts, including priceless jewelry that began her famous collection. "He was the first man who gave me everything I wanted," she later reflected. Their passionate relationship ended tragically when Todd died in a plane crash in 1958, just 13 months after their wedding. Elizabeth was devastated, later saying, "When the plane crashed, I crashed with it." At his funeral, she placed her arms around his casket and cried, "I love you, Mike. I love you." In her grief, Elizabeth turned to Todd's best friend, singer Eddie Fisher, who was married to actress Debbie Reynolds. Their affair caused an international scandal, with Elizabeth cast as the villain who had broken up America's sweethearts. The Vatican even accused her of "erotic vagrancy." Despite the public condemnation, they married in 1959, but the relationship was doomed from the start. Fisher became more of a manager than a husband, watching over her diet, smoking, and drinking. When Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton met on the set of Cleopatra in 1962, it ignited what would become the most famous love affair of the 20th century. Their attraction was immediate and overwhelming. "Richard and I had a love story that is very rare these days, a real honest-to-goodness love story," Elizabeth later said. Both were married to others—Elizabeth to Fisher and Burton to Sybil Williams—but their passion proved unstoppable. The scandal was unprecedented, with photographers capturing them in intimate moments on yachts and at nightclubs. Headlines about "Liz and Dick" supplanted news of the Cold War and even John Glenn's orbit of Earth. Their relationship was as tempestuous as it was passionate. They fought fiercely and loved intensely, their arguments often fueled by alcohol and ending in passionate reconciliations. Burton showered Elizabeth with extraordinary jewels, including the 33.19-carat Krupp Diamond and the 69.42-carat Taylor-Burton Diamond. They traveled on private jets and yachts, maintained homes around the world, and spent money as quickly as they earned it. The intensity that drew them together ultimately tore them apart. Their first marriage ended in divorce in 1974, only for them to remarry in 1975 and divorce again in 1976. Even after their second divorce, they remained connected. When Burton died in 1984, Elizabeth was devastated. "Richard is the only man I have ever truly loved," she said, "and I will miss him until the day I die."

Chapter 3: Hollywood Icon: Redefining Stardom and Celebrity

Elizabeth Taylor fundamentally transformed the concept of modern celebrity. Unlike stars who carefully maintained a polished public image, Elizabeth lived authentically and unapologetically, refusing to hide her flaws or conform to societal expectations. Her personal life—with its passionate romances, health crises, and struggles with addiction—played out in full public view, creating a new template for celebrity that valued authenticity over perfection. "I don't pretend to be an ordinary housewife," she once declared. "I've made my mistakes, but I've owned up to them and I've paid my price." Her artistic legacy includes performances that revolutionized screen acting. In 1960, Elizabeth won her first Academy Award for BUtterfield 8, though she considered the film beneath her talents and believed the award was more a sympathy vote after her near-fatal bout with pneumonia. Her true artistic triumph came with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), where she played the bitter, alcoholic Martha opposite Burton's George. For this role, Elizabeth gained weight, wore a gray wig, and embraced the character's vulgarity—a radical departure from her glamorous image. This willingness to appear unglamorous for the sake of her art demonstrated her commitment to her craft over her image and earned her a second Academy Award. Elizabeth's impact on fashion and beauty remains indelible. Her signature violet eyes, voluptuous figure, and glamorous style defined an era of Hollywood glamour that continues to inspire designers and photographers. Unlike many actresses who were primarily clotheshorses for designers, Elizabeth developed her own distinctive aesthetic, mixing high fashion with personal touches like her legendary jewelry collection. Her approach to beauty was similarly individualistic—she often did her own makeup and developed signature looks like her dramatically lined eyes that became widely imitated. What truly set Elizabeth apart from other stars was her refusal to be controlled by studios, directors, or public opinion. In an era when most actresses were at the mercy of the studio system, Elizabeth negotiated unprecedented control over her career. For Cleopatra (1963), she secured a then-astronomical $1 million fee plus a percentage of the gross, revolutionizing how stars were compensated. When the production ran into troubles, Elizabeth leveraged her power to protect her interests and those of her co-stars. This business acumen would serve her well throughout her career and later business ventures. Elizabeth and Burton's relationship transformed celebrity culture forever. They were the first celebrity couple with their own nickname, well before "Brangelina." Their passionate, all-consuming love affair captivated the world and redefined what it meant to be famous. The paparazzi, a relatively new phenomenon, pursued them relentlessly, creating the template for modern celebrity coverage. Elizabeth understood the public's fascination but maintained boundaries, once saying, "I've tried to be as honest as I could be about my life, but there are private things that I won't talk about." Perhaps most significantly, Elizabeth demonstrated that a woman could age in the public eye without surrendering her sexuality, independence, or relevance. In a culture obsessed with youth, particularly for women, Elizabeth refused to disappear or apologize for growing older. "I am my age," she stated firmly in her sixties. "I'm not trying to be younger than I am, and I'm not apologizing for it either." This defiance of ageist expectations, combined with her continued professional reinvention, created new possibilities for how women could navigate the later chapters of public life.

Chapter 4: The Business Mogul: Diamonds, Fragrances, and Empire

Elizabeth Taylor's business acumen was as formidable as her acting talent. In 1961, she revolutionized Hollywood's pay structure when she negotiated an unprecedented $1 million fee for Cleopatra (equivalent to $9.7 million today), becoming the first actor—male or female—to command such a sum. Her contract also included 10% of the absolute gross, $3,000 weekly for living expenses, and first-class travel for her entourage. This bold move established her not just as a star but as a savvy businesswoman who understood her market value. Beyond her film work, Elizabeth pioneered celebrity branding decades before it became common practice. In 1987, she launched her first perfume, Passion, working closely with Elizabeth Arden to develop the scent. Unlike celebrities who merely lent their names to products, Elizabeth was deeply involved in every aspect of creation and marketing. She insisted on quality and authenticity, refusing to compromise her vision. When her second fragrance, White Diamonds, was released in 1991, it became one of the best-selling celebrity perfumes of all time, generating over $1.5 billion in sales over thirty years. "I wanted to give every woman the chance to own a diamond," she said of the fragrance. Elizabeth's jewelry collection represented not just personal passion but savvy investment. She amassed one of the most valuable private jewelry collections in the world, with pieces that appreciated significantly over time. Her collection included the 33.19-carat Krupp Diamond (later known as the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond) and the 50-carat La Peregrina pearl, once owned by Spanish royalty. When Christie's auctioned her jewelry collection in 2011 after her death, it fetched $156.8 million, setting world records for the most valuable private collection of jewels sold at auction. Throughout her career, Elizabeth maintained control over her image and business affairs with remarkable foresight. "The commodity of Elizabeth Taylor she fought tooth and nail for," recalled her longtime assistant Tim Mendelson. When her partners wanted to launch her perfume at a department store other than Macy's, which was then the premiere venue for fragrance launches, she insisted on Macy's. She understood that maintaining the value of her brand empowered her financially and, importantly, enabled her philanthropic work. Elizabeth's understanding of her own image allowed her to maintain relevance across decades. When her film career waned in the 1980s, she reinvented herself through her perfume empire and AIDS activism. She embraced new media, becoming an early adopter of Twitter where she amassed a significant following. Unlike many aging stars who fade from public consciousness, Elizabeth remained a cultural touchstone until her death, appearing on magazine covers and television specials well into her seventies. By the time she reached her fifties, Elizabeth had transformed herself from merely a movie star into a formidable entrepreneur whose business ventures far outlasted her film career. She created a template for celebrity branding that stars still follow today, proving that her talents extended far beyond the silver screen. As she once said, "If you're famous there's so many good things you can do. I spent my whole last fifty years protecting my privacy. I resented my fame until I realized I could use it."

Chapter 5: AIDS Activist: Finding Purpose Beyond Fame

In the early 1980s, as a mysterious disease began decimating gay communities across America, Elizabeth Taylor witnessed the suffering of her close friends and was appalled by society's indifference. When her dear friend Rock Hudson died of AIDS in 1985, she transformed her grief into action, becoming the first major celebrity to publicly fight against the disease and the stigma surrounding it. "I could no longer walk on the other side of the street," she declared. This marked the beginning of what would become her greatest legacy. Elizabeth's AIDS activism was revolutionary at a time when fear and prejudice dominated public discourse. In 1985, she chaired AIDS Project Los Angeles's Commitment to Life fundraiser, the first major celebrity AIDS fundraiser in the world. The following year, she co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) with Dr. Mathilde Krim. Elizabeth leveraged her fame to secure donations, making personal calls to potential donors and shaming those who refused to help. "If you don't come to my event," she would tell reluctant celebrities, "I will never speak to you again." Her advocacy went far beyond fundraising. Elizabeth pressured then-President Ronald Reagan into making his first speech devoted exclusively to the AIDS pandemic in 1987, six years after the first cases were reported. At the 8th International AIDS Conference in 1992, she publicly criticized President George H.W. Bush for his administration's inaction: "I don't think President Bush is doing anything at all about AIDS. In fact, I'm not even sure if he knows how to spell AIDS." Her rebuke made headline news worldwide the next day. Elizabeth's commitment to the cause was deeply personal. Many of her closest friends were gay men, including Rock Hudson, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, and Roddy McDowall. "I knew what Monty was fighting," she said of Clift's struggles with his sexuality. "He was tormented his whole life. I tried to explain to him that it wasn't awful. It was the way that nature had made him." This empathy fueled her determination to fight the discrimination that compounded the suffering of AIDS patients. Her activism extended beyond public appearances. Elizabeth went to extraordinary lengths privately to help those with HIV/AIDS, including visiting AIDS hospices when many were afraid to even touch patients, holding their hands and comforting them. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's leading expert on the virus in its early days, recalled working with Elizabeth: "She was a little lady!" he said, referring to her five-foot-two frame. "But she was ferocious." When she accepted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Oscars in 1993, Elizabeth wore an HIV and AIDS Awareness pin made of rubies and gold. "I accept this award in honor of all the men, women, and children with AIDS who are waging incredibly valiant battles for their lives," she said. "I will remain here as rowdy an activist as I have to be, and God willing for as long as I have to be." By the time of her death in 2011, she had helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars for research and patient care. Elizabeth's AIDS activism represented a profound evolution in her public persona. The woman once condemned by the Vatican for "erotic vagrancy" had become a moral force, challenging society's prejudices and fighting for the marginalized.

Chapter 6: Personal Battles: Resilience Through Health Struggles

Elizabeth Taylor's life was marked by an extraordinary series of health crises that would have defeated a less resilient spirit. Her first major health scare came in 1961 when she contracted pneumonia and nearly died, slipping into a coma and requiring an emergency tracheotomy. The procedure left a visible scar on her neck that she never attempted to hide, considering it a reminder of her survival. During this near-death experience, she reported seeing a tunnel of light and feeling herself "slip over the edge," an experience that profoundly affected her spiritual outlook. Throughout her life, Elizabeth endured over 70 hospitalizations and at least 20 major surgeries. She suffered from severe back pain that began during the filming of National Velvet when she fell from a horse, leading to multiple surgeries and chronic pain that plagued her for decades. In the 1980s, she underwent hip replacement surgeries that left her in excruciating pain and contributed to her dependence on painkillers. In 1997, she faced perhaps her most frightening health crisis when doctors discovered a benign brain tumor. After successful surgery, Elizabeth characteristically made light of her shaved head, joking to photographers about her new look. Elizabeth's health struggles were compounded by her battles with addiction. She became dependent on alcohol and prescription medications, particularly after back surgeries and during her unhappy marriage to Senator John Warner. In December 1983, Elizabeth's family staged an intervention that led to her seven-week stay at the Betty Ford Center. With characteristic candor, she became one of the first celebrities to publicly acknowledge addiction treatment. "I was so weak I couldn't stand up in the shower," she revealed about her detoxification process. "But I was determined to beat it." Weight fluctuations provided another target for public scrutiny throughout Elizabeth's life. Tabloids cruelly documented her appearance, with comedian Joan Rivers making Elizabeth's weight a staple of her comedy routine. Elizabeth responded with characteristic humor, once quipping, "It's not the having, it's the getting," when asked about her dieting efforts. In 1988, she published Elizabeth Takes Off, a candid account of her weight loss journey that became a bestseller. Despite these challenges, Elizabeth maintained an indomitable spirit and sense of humor. When asked about her numerous health scares, she quipped, "I've been through it all, baby. I'm Mother Courage." She refused to be defined by illness or addiction, instead channeling her experiences into compassion for others. Her own suffering gave her profound empathy for those in pain, which would later fuel her AIDS activism. Elizabeth's resilience in the face of physical suffering revealed the steel beneath her glamorous exterior. She approached health crises with the same determination she brought to her film roles and relationships—giving everything, refusing to surrender. This quality inspired millions who saw in her not just a beautiful movie star, but a woman of extraordinary courage who repeatedly faced down death with grace and even humor. As she once said, "I've always admitted that I'm ruled by my passions," and in following those passions—whether for diamonds, love, or justice—she created a legacy that transcends her era and continues to inspire those who value both beauty and substance, glamour and compassion.

Chapter 7: Enduring Legacy: Glamour with Substance

Elizabeth Taylor's enduring legacy lies in her remarkable ability to transform herself from a studio-controlled child star into a humanitarian force and business pioneer who lived entirely on her own terms. Throughout her evolution, she maintained an authenticity that resonated with the public, never pretending to be anything other than herself. "I don't pretend to be an ordinary housewife," she once said. This honesty created a powerful connection with audiences that transcended her films and sustained her cultural relevance for over six decades. Her artistic contributions remain significant. With performances in films like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Suddenly, Last Summer, Elizabeth brought a raw emotional honesty that helped transition Hollywood from the stylized acting of earlier eras to a more naturalistic approach. Her willingness to appear unglamorous and emotionally exposed in Virginia Woolf demonstrated her commitment to her craft over her image. With two Academy Awards and five nominations, her talent earned the respect of critics and peers alike. As a businesswoman, Elizabeth created a template for celebrity branding that revolutionized how stars leverage their fame. Her fragrance empire, beginning with Passion in 1987 and continuing with the phenomenally successful White Diamonds, demonstrated that celebrities could build lucrative business ventures around their personal brand. Her insistence on maintaining creative control over products bearing her name established a precedent that later celebrity entrepreneurs would follow. "If my name is going to be on something," she insisted, "it has to be something I would actually use myself." Elizabeth's most profound impact came through her AIDS activism. At a time when the disease carried enormous stigma, she used her celebrity to demand attention and resources for research and patient care. She co-founded amfAR and later established The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, raising over $100 million and, more importantly, helping to transform public perception of the disease. "I would have been a failure as a human being had I not tried to help," she once said, revealing the deep moral conviction behind her activism. Her personal life—with its eight marriages, health battles, and addiction struggles—modeled both vulnerability and resilience. She lived unapologetically on her own terms, refusing to conform to societal expectations about how women, particularly famous women, should behave. Her openness about her struggles with addiction helped destigmatize substance abuse issues and encouraged others to seek help. When she checked into the Betty Ford Center in 1983, she did so publicly, helping to normalize the idea that addiction is a disease requiring treatment rather than a moral failing. Elizabeth Taylor's legacy represents the triumph of substance over mere celebrity. While she enjoyed the trappings of fame—the jewelry, the glamour, the adoration—she ultimately used her position to effect meaningful change in the world. "I've been famous for so long that I don't know what it's like not to be," she once said, "but I do know that I'm going to leave something behind. I'm not going to just die and disappear." Indeed, she left behind not just memorable films and a successful business empire, but a model of how to use fame as a platform for advocacy and how to live authentically despite public scrutiny. In doing so, she transformed what it means to be a star, proving that true glamour comes with substance.

Summary

Elizabeth Taylor's extraordinary life embodied a fundamental truth: authentic passion, directed toward meaningful purpose, creates the most enduring legacy. From her earliest days as a child star to her final years as a humanitarian icon, Taylor refused to be defined by others' expectations, instead following her heart whether in love, art, business, or activism. Her journey teaches us that true impact comes not from perfection but from embracing our full humanity—flaws, struggles, and all. She demonstrated that fame becomes meaningful when leveraged for causes greater than oneself, and that resilience in the face of personal challenges can become a source of strength and compassion toward others. The lessons of Taylor's life remain remarkably relevant today. She pioneered the concept of authentic celebrity in an era of carefully manufactured images, showing that vulnerability can be a strength rather than a weakness. Her business ventures created a template for how public figures can build enterprises that reflect their genuine passions rather than merely exploiting their names. Most importantly, her AIDS activism demonstrated how a single determined voice can help shift public consciousness on critical issues. For anyone interested in entertainment history, women's empowerment, or the intersection of celebrity and social change, Elizabeth Taylor's story offers a masterclass in living boldly, loving deeply, and leaving an impact that extends far beyond beauty and fame.

About Author

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Kate Andersen Brower

Kate Andersen Brower is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller THE RESIDENCE and the New York Times bestseller FIRST WOMEN, as well as FIRST IN LINE, TEAM OF FIVE, and the children’s book EXPLORING THE WHITE HOUSE. She is a CNN contributor and she has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Vanity Fair and Time. She spent four years covering the Obama White House for Bloomberg News and is a former CBS News staffer and Fox News producer. She lives outside Washington, D.C, with her husband, their three young children, and their wheaten terrier named Chance.

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